Split Chain's Bert Martinez-Cowles and Tom Davies guide us through the creation of their debut album, ‘motionblur’, out July 11 via Epitaph Records.
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There’s a motto that Split Chain have attached to themselves. A mantra. A statement. An admission.
The Chain does what it wants.
Yet in the two years they have been active, they’d be the first to admit that these words only scratch the surface. Because the Chain may do as it pleases, but in their eyes, it was never supposed to reach this level.
What started as a distraction from their vices for vocalist Bert Martinez-Cowles and bassist Tom Davies has evolved into a genuine career, a viral sensation and an Epitaph Records focus, catching the attention of everyone from New Found Glory and Good Charlotte to Knocked Loose and Silverstein.
For many bands, such a boost would be too much to handle. The pressure to succeed overshadowing the vital escape that this is all rooted in. But fortunately, Split Chain have taken it in their stride, not letting the eyes on them stop them from being exactly who they are.
“So much of this has exceeded our expectations, and now we’re just looking at maintaining those expectations,” Tom explains. “But there isn’t any sort of bullshit façade or us pretending to be someone else so we can do these things. This band is fundamentally built on us and the things we have been through. I think that authenticity will always shine through and always carry us.”
And so much of that comes through in the band’s debut offering ‘motionblur’. A snapshot of what it means to still be figuring yourself out while everything around you moves at a rapid pace, it’s a seething, savage, and sensationally raw listen. And though there is uncertainty and frustration throughout, they hope that the honesty will inspire others to be open in their feelings. To not be afraid to feel a bit lost, even when all of your dreams are coming true.
“Everything that we have been doing has been real to us,” Bert adds. “We’re all going through this for the first time together, and I’m just writing about what is happening to us and what we’re experiencing. And that makes it really fucking honest. Because if it’s not honest, then who is going to want to connect to it?”
To dive deeper into one of the biggest scene success stories of the decade so far, Rock Sound caught up with Bert and Tom whilst they were on the road in Europe.
THE SOUND
You can tell when a band lives and breathes the music that they make. Where their passionate understanding of its culture and community spills out of every riff, chorus and breakdown they create rather than a simple adoption of a sound that is the flavour of the month. Though the Split Chain story started in 2022, its members have been a part of the underground alternative scenes across England for well over a decade, with Bert previously fronting Bristol emos Pushing Daisies, guitarist Jake Reid taking up leads with Southwest metalcore merchants Roads To Nowhere and drummer Aaron Black hitting skins for Swindon progressives Ursus.
Such a varied set of tastes and different paths towards an infatuation with music eventually coming together as one unit has allowed Split Chain to spread their wings far and wide when it comes to their output, spending the previous 18 months before ‘motionblur’ writing singles based on whatever felt right in the moment. And when it came to piecing together a full body of work, that sprawling creativity only intensified, allowing sounds that shouldn’t exist on the same album to have very close quarters with one another. Take ‘The Space In Between’, which feels more like a pop-punk song than anything else or ‘bored. tired. torn.’ which is littered with pop sensibility and compare them to the way that ‘Rookie’ fizzes with the grittiness of post-hardcore and ‘I’m Not Dying To Be Here’ embraces of off-kilter stomp of nu-metal. The desire to represent as much of their personal taste as possible was the easy part. The real challenge came in making all of these wondrous creations flow seamlessly.
“That was the most difficult thing for us to create,” Bert explains. “All of the singles we have done in the past have sounded like whatever we wanted to be doing at the time. We are always open to influences as well. It comes from the idea that if it sounds good and we like it, then it is Split Chain. That’s something that we didn’t want to lose with this. We wanted to ensure that the record was diverse, yet still maintained a sense of cohesion.
“So, the focus on the small details took over from the diversity in a big way. There are songs that you would never usually hear on the same album, but because it is us making it, it has worked. That attention to detail has made it work.”
Much of this comes down to the talents of Kel Pinchin, known for his production work with the likes of Thornhill and Void of Vision as well as being one-half of theatrical maestros Modern Error. Spending four weeks in the heart of winter working out of Middle Farm Studios in deepest Devon, the band were crammed in to say the least, sleeping on top of each other as well as practically next to the recording equipment. It was an environment that would push many a collective to breaking point. But having a mind as understanding, exploratory, and effortlessly lovely as Kel has heading things up kept everything in check, allowing the band to view the grand scheme of things more than the here and now and stay in control of their mission.
“Kel was the key, especially in that scenario,” Tom nods. “If we were getting too in our heads about shit or there was uncertainty or doubt, he had such a good way of staying level minded and seeing the bigger picture. I would say that he is like another member of the band, even though he is not in the band. He just has all the perspective of what we are doing outwardly, whereas we were all seeing it from a bit more internal point of view. He was able to say, “I see where you’re coming from, but try and see it from this angle’. There’s zero bullshit with him. You need brutal honesty sometimes, and whilst it can be difficult to hear, he’s only doing it for our benefit. He is, was and will be a key part of Split Chain going forward.”
THE LYRICS
Honesty really has become a major part of everything that Split Chain is. And that especially comes through in how the band feel about being put up on a pedestal because of their successes. The truth of the matter is that they are no different from the kids standing on the other side of the barrier from them. Normal lads who have been given the keys to the kingdom, who are still figuring out who they want to be in life away from this band as much as within it.
“The hardest thing is that we have gone from not really doing anything to now being a full-time touring band,” Bert laughs. “We are now spending half the year away from home. So, we are trying to learn how to live that lifestyle while also learning to cope with it on top of our home life very quickly. You don’t get taught these things.”
“It’s important for people to remember that just because we are in the position we are in, and that is a privilege in itself, we are still pretty normal fucking people,” Tom adds. “I still have to call Eon Energy and pay my bills when I get home. I’ve still got normal shit to do.”
It’s in learning how to handle this balance that much of the emotional resonance of ‘motionblur’ comes through. These are songs written as much about the impostor syndrome that comes with band life as they are looking back on the innocence of your younger years before life became all too serious. The anxiousness that comes with wondering if you’re making the right moves and the uncertainty of how much things will have changed when your feet once again touch the ground.
In not hiding away from the realities of growing up fast in the public eye, Bert and Tom are hoping that all those who come into contact with Split Chain will understand that, no matter how amazing things may seem, none of this comes easily. There is a price to pay, be it physically or mentally, and it is part and parcel of this complex and unpredictable life. After all, it’s what made them fall in love with this music in the first place, so why wouldn’t they want to keep that streak going?
“When I was a kid, a lot of the reason I got into this music and the scene was because of the emotional connection that I felt with the lyrics,” Tom admits. “I could relate to it in my own way. That’s a huge part of any music. That’s why it’s important to us. For us to continue doing that and give it back to people. A lot of what we have done has been about giving back what has been given to us.”
The sentiment that comes with giving something back certainly stems from the very personal origins of the band that Bert and Tom have. As a means of keeping each other in check, not succumbing to simply drinking alcohol as an escape from reality, they would travel to each other’s houses to write music, the biggest connector at their disposal. The fact that they put so much of themselves into their art, rather than other vices, has made the band’s success feel like a reward. But it’s much more than that. It is a reminder that you are always capable of changing your destination. You are the one who dictates what your life should be defined by. And every emotion you are feeling is there for a reason; it’s up to you whether you want to explore why you’re feeling it.
“We’re at a point where we know we are human and we are going to keep on making mistakes,” Tom explains. “But we have made enough mistakes in the past to learn from them. I mean this about everyone because everyone in the band has matured and made good decisions since the band started.
“I think that when you are stuck in a rut, it’s really easy to think that this is all that life has for you. And you have the choice whether you want to carry on down that path of self-destruction. But it doesn’t have to be that way. And it may sound clichéd, but sometimes it feels like the universe is ready to give back to you if you’re willing to make that change. All of this is just really rewarding now. It’s rewarding in every sense. And it’s really lovely to be allowed to show people who are as people within all of this in ways that aren’t just by the music.”
THE TITLE
The occurrence of motion blur happens when something is moving at an extremely high speed when it is being captured in a picture or on video. Although such an effect can occur within our minds as well, if we end up moving too quickly. For Split Chain, life on the road this past year has felt like this, what with two trips to America, a splattering of local support tours and plenty of festival appearances under their belts. Although you are trying to take it all in, the mind ends up blending everything into a single experience. One long streak of feeling.
To call their debut album, a summation of their adventure so far, ‘motionblur’ does feel incredibly apt, especially when it is accompanied by the artwork that it is. A hazy collection of photos, glimmer of memories – a busy street, a tall building, an unknown figure only recognisable by the top of their head – all set against a cool grey colour palette. It’s a personification of this breakneck experience that this band has been, and will continue to be, as the opportunities keep stacking up and the miles are marked.
This could be viewed as a negative aspect of the band’s rapid progress. That there is no time to slow down and enjoy the spectacle, and that by the time things have sunk in, they are already seven steps further down the line. But for Bert and Tom, being able to even attempt to capture the thrill of what they are doing right now is a gift, and one that they do not take for granted.
“It’s always about the snapshot,” Bert smiles. “It’s about this point in time. It’s a classic album cliché, but it’s true. We started writing this record in 2024 and finished recording it in 2024. There has been nothing before and after it. Because none of us has done this before, it means we all get to experience it together for the first time. Many people have said that when they watch us, they can see that we are smiling and being incredibly enthusiastic about everything. Even if one or two had done any of this before, that energy and feeling within the group wouldn’t be there. We have all gone from the very bottom to where we are now, and I feel like that is such a positive thing to be able to happen. A lot of bands don’t get that opportunity.”
“I’m 100% invested in Split Chain and everything that we do, but I do try and make conscious efforts to take steps back and take in what we are doing,” Tom adds. “The band is the core of all of this, and it will keep on being the thing that binds us all together no matter what. It goes back to ‘The Chain does what it wants’. The motto is there, and we have to believe it. However, in addition to believing it, we must guide it. Not control it, but say whether it goes in one direction or the other. It’s an important part of making this work.”
THE FUTURE
Despite them already achieving so much before these songs have even hit the streets, it still feels like this is only the beginning for what the next two years is going to mean to Split Chain. They have shown that this scene is truly limitless these days, that this music can infiltrate areas that would have been completely alien in the past. And as more and more people fall in love with them, you would think that the pressure to be who those fans want them to be would increase.
However, what sets Split Chain apart from everyone else is the bond that exists between them. That they are friends first and bandmates second. The only reason they can make the music they do is because of the deep-seated trust they have in the ranks. No matter what is just around the corner, no matter what stage they stand on next and no matter what their next step is, the fact that they will be doing it together will never ever change.
“We respect our friendship the most here, and then the more that Split Chain grows, the stronger that gets as internally as well as externally,” Tom beams. “If it were the other way around, I don’t think we would be anywhere near where we are now. I don’t think the band would even exist in any capacity. Relationships are what started this band, and relationships are what are going to continue to grow this band.”
“It’s all about respect,” Bert concludes with a nod. “And when it comes to Split Chain, respect is very high.”
